Cancer generally refers to the group of diseases that are characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormally functioning cells in the tissue of an organism. For the year 2012, American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 1,638,910 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and approximately 577,190 Americans will die due to cancer. This mortality estimate places cancer as the second-most common cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease.
Cancer survival rates have risen with the advancement of various diagnostic techniques that are capable of detecting cancers at earlier stages. For example, the 5-year survival rate for all cancers detected between 1975-1977 in the United States was approximately 49% while, more than 25 years later, the 5-year survival rates for all cancers diagnosed between 2001-2007 rose to approximately 67%.